


Little Talks

by soozu



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Best Friends, Cole and Jay are best friends, Day of the Departed, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Gen or Pre-Slash, Ghost!Cole, Hurt/Comfort, Not Canon Compliant, Shippy if you Squint, they're just really touchy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-14
Updated: 2018-12-14
Packaged: 2019-09-18 10:28:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16993314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soozu/pseuds/soozu
Summary: How Cole's ghost arc should've gone down if Of Monsters and Men narrated it.Alternatively: Cole and Jay are tender and there are a lot of feelings involved. The author was extremely indulgent.





	Little Talks

**Author's Note:**

> "Don't listen to a word I say, hey!  
> The screams all sound the same.  
> Though the truth may vary,  
> This ship will carry our  
> Bodies safe to shore."  
> \- Of Monsters and Men

Little Talks

 

The Bounty at night sometimes reminds Cole of the old temple on top of that floating island. In the daylight, not so much. Cole has always loved basking in the morning light with his team, all of them just enjoying the breeze and training in open air. When it’s afternoon and the sun gets too hot for comfort, they can still have lunch among each other, either under deck or huddled together underneath a large parasol. Towards the evening, they would brighten up their ship with warm colored lights that makes Cole feel all warm and cozy.

At night, however, when everything is dead quiet except for the creaking of the ship and the muffled howls of wind, Cole is stricken with a deep, irrational fear that he is not home. Even when he’s surrounded by his teammates, all sleeping soundly around him, he cannot hear their breathing. The beating in his heart is too loud in his own ears, and when he goes to grip his blanket tightly, his hand phases through. Sometimes when he blinks, he sees the wooden halls of the Bounty being replaced with the dark, dusty corridors of the Temple of Airjitzu. Even the noises the ship makes are too similar to the place. The ship creaks and Cole jolts out of his bed, cold panic gripping his heart too tightly. 

“I just need to calm down.” Cole whispers under his breath, bringing his hands up to clutch at his own shoulders tightly. He can’t feel the weight or texture of his blanket anymore, and another violent shudder races up his spine. “Oh FSM, just breathe. Cole, just breathe.”

His breathing still comes out in stutters. He tries to suck it in the best he can, but he feels as though his heart is jackhammering up his throat and he’s choking. He claws at his arms and his throat, trying feebly to take in calming breaths, but instead he feels himself sinking deeper into the mattress. He literally is, he realizes with a start, and if he can’t calm down soon he will fall straight through the ship and down to earth.

That thought really doesn’t help with the situation as he only feels more panicked at the revelation. He doesn’t know why he’s not calling out for help as all of his friends are here with him. He tries to, at least, but whatever that comes out sounds more like a breathless squeak than anything coherent. He can already feel his lower body phasing through the wooden frame of his bed, and sure enough it also goes straight through the floor. He holds onto his bed for dear life, focusing all his energy onto his arms as he tries to lift himself back up. Slowly but surely, it works, and as he’s trying to pull his left leg back up on the mattress, he can feel stirring from one of the beds.

“Mmm…” Jay sits up from underneath his blanket and rubs his eyes tiredly. “What’s with all the ruckus?” He mumbles, before raising his head and locking eyes with Cole, whose one leg is still phasing through the floor. “Cole?” Jay blinks, and blinks again. He rubs his eyes and stares, before jumping out of his bed. “Oh my gosh! Cole!”

Cole immediately shushes his best friend who’s now clearly worried about his state. Jay’s worrying is nothing new, but Cole doesn’t feel like dealing with a full team of ninja tonight. Besides, he can’t stand their pitying looks whenever he slips in this ghostly state. He can’t even stand to look at Jay’s face right now. He just wants to get out of this mess and go back to sleep.

“Cole? You okay, buddy?” Jay asks, his voice lowering to a whisper. He still clearly hasn’t woken up properly as he’s struggling not to slur his voice. However, his eyes are bright with adrenaline, probably from the scare Cole’s giving him right now.

“Yeah, I’m okay.” Cole says, his voice also in a hush. To be honest, he doesn’t know if he can handle speaking any louder than this, or else Jay will hear the crack in his voice. Cole’s desperately trying to not cry out of shame, dammit. “Just a little slip, haha. I’m still not used to being a g-ghost.”

The ship creaks again and Cole flinches. Jay catches that immediately and frowns at him. Cole tries not to meet his eyes and pulls himself back up. It takes him more than a minute to try and set himself back on bed without slipping through the mattress again, and the way Jay is staring at him makes it extremely distracting. If ghosts could sweat, Cole would be burning in pain right now. 

“I’m going to bed now, good night.” Cole says, laying back down on his bed quickly. Jay just rolls his eyes at him and leaves for his own bed. Cole can’t help but sigh at that, feeling the frustration and fear of his friend’s nosy judgement rolling away. That is, until Jay comes back with his pillow and blanket in hand. He settles a knee onto Cole’s mattress and shoots him a narrowed eyed look.

“Scoot over.” Jay says, already crawling in next to Cole. 

“What?” Cole stares at Jay, his body reflexively making space for his friend.

“I said scoot over, you big dummy.” Jay props his pillow right next to Cole and climbs into his bed fully. “You’re clearly not fine at all. I’m taking the initiative to give us a sleepover.” With a huff, he drops his own body down and makes a show of snuggling into his own blanket. Cole can only let him do that the entire time. The warmth that’s radiating from Jay is muffled under Cole’s ghostly senses, but he can still feel it, and to be honest, it’s extremely grounding for him at this moment.

“You know we technically always have sleepovers, right?” Cole can’t help but joke. Comments like this come naturally to him whenever Jay is around. It’s just how they talk with each other, an easy banter between close friends. However, the mood is cold right now, and right after the words leave his mouth, Cole immediately feels the humor sapping along with it. Jay is right here next to him, but a part of Cole wishes he stayed in his own bed. “You know you don’t need to do this, right? It was just an accident.” 

As he says that, Jay, who’s laying down and facing him now, just watches him carefully. Once Cole trails off, he scoffs.

“If you’re so fine, how come your hands are shaking right now?” Jay asks. Cole looks back down at the accused body parts, and there they are, shaking as if he’s been punching holes through concrete floors. 

“Oh…” Cole murmurs softly. There must’ve been something on his face, because Jay’s frown goes soft around the edges.

“What happened?” He asks. Somehow his hands manage to reach Cole’s, and they grasp onto his fingers with a certain tenderness that Jay usually doesn’t possess. Maybe it’s fatigue; maybe it’s his vulnerable state of mind, but Cole finds himself curling his fingers around Jay’s palm and leaning in close. He still can’t quite meet Jay’s eyes, but the weight that’s sitting in his stomach this whole time is slowly fading away.

“The ship was creaking really loudly. It’s keeping me awake.” Cole replies. He tries not to focus on the dark open space behind Jay and instead watches Jay’s chest as his friend breathes next to him. The constant and rhythmic motion of his shirt shifting with each inhale and exhale is calming, but not enough. Especially since Cole cannot feel his own body replicating the motion.

“It’s just the wind. You’ve slept through this before.” Jay says back, shifting his body to turn towards Cole’s. “What’s wrong with it now?”

“I don’t know.” Cole buries his face into his pillow, his voice thick with feelings he can’t quite describe. The fading weight shifts towards his throat, and once again he feels it tightens, threatening to burst. “I don’t like the darkness. It reminds me too much of that place, and I kept being reminded of how I didn’t make it.”

“The Temple of Airjitzu?” Jay asks, and Cole nods sulkily. He can hear Jay sigh next to him. “That explains why you’ve been so tired lately. You haven’t been sleeping at all.” At that, Cole pauses and nods again, not trusting himself to speak. The grip Jay has on Cole’s hand tightens just a fraction and he turns to lay on his back, lifting his free arm to drape it over his eyes. “Why didn’t you tell us about this? You know being a ghost already makes you vulnerable, and yet you still force yourself like this.”

“I don’t know.” Cole replies. His eyes sting, but he tries not to cry. He doesn’t know if he can anymore, and that revelation just sends his mood spiraling downwards. “Some days I can’t even trust myself. What you’ve seen tonight is an example of that. What if I fall when I’m still asleep? Will I keep falling until I hit the earth and die on impact? What if I just keep falling until I burn in the core of the earth? What if I just keep falling forever?” As he goes on, he feels his voice cracking and he swallows hard, trying to keep the knot in his throat down. “I don’t know if I can keep being a ninja like this, Jay. Like you said, I’m too vulnerable. If I lose my focus, I will become so intangible that none of my hits will land. When you guys are in trouble and that happens, what can I do?”

For a moment, Jay stays quiet. The silence that follows feels like hours to Cole, but in truth it probably only lasts for a minute or so. Then, Jay sighs deeply and turns his head towards Cole, blue eyes alight in the dark of night. “It’s killing me to see you this way.” He says, and Cole doesn’t know how to reply. There’s suddenly a million thoughts racing in his head, but out of all of them the loudest is a deep sense of shame that overtakes him completely. Before he can react properly, Jay’s eyes widen and he scrambles briefly. “Oh, Cole, that’s not what I meant. It’s killing me to see you this way, because I’m so used to seeing you as the rock of the team. You’re always so strong and steady, even if sometimes you mess up like the rest of us. But I keep forgetting that even though you’ve made so many sacrifices for us, we still forget that you’re human, too. Besides being a ninja and an elemental master, I still have plenty of worries and anxieties. I keep forgetting that you have those, too.”

“What do you mean?” Cole furrows his brows. Jay takes a deep breath and turns to him fully. He seems oddly flustered, but his grip on Cole’s hand is unwavering. 

“I mean that we really didn’t know how to deal with this ghost thing that happened.” Jay says. “I was right there, but I didn’t even feel you leave the rope. We should’ve known better to leave you behind. Even when you were struggling to deal with it on your own, we didn’t even think about helping you or giving you comfort. We relied on you too much, Cole. I think you’re… You’re trying so hard to be strong for us and for Lloyd. But it’s okay to be afraid, too. I want you to trust me and rely on me, too.”

“Jay, I never thought…” Cole murmurs. The weight of Jay’s hand in his feels a little more real than before. The ship creaks suddenly and brings in another wave of anxiety with it. Cole shudders and Jay’s grip tightens once again as if it’s a physical anchor for Cole to stay with him in the moment. Taking a deep breath, Cole continues. “But, what if there’s this metaphorical voice in my head that’s telling me not to? That I need to stop relying on you guys to save me time and time again at one point. What will I do then?” He shudders again when the ship lurches, changing its course. “I’m… I’m really scared, Jay.”

“Well, tell that voice in your head that we’re gonna have some little talks.” Jay replies, smiling easily at him. “I get it, Cole. I really do. This is a scary situation for all of us, and for you, especially.” Here, the smile slips back into a small frown as Jay looks up at the ceiling, thinking about something Cole can’t quite fathom. “I struggle with bad thoughts, too, you know. Everyday I would think about the worst case scenarios, even if I try not to. We all have bad thoughts in our heads that are holding us back from becoming better, but I can’t say that all of our experiences can relate to one another. I can’t really empathise with you, but I want to help. So does Zane, Kai, and Nya. Even Lloyd, and he’s been through a lot, too.” He trails off again. “You’re right, though. We hardly ever share these kinds of things with the others. I guess this all makes us hypocrites in a way, huh?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Cole can’t help but crack a smile. “I didn’t really think about it before, but I guess it makes sense; We’re all a bunch of kids running around fighting great evils, all of us are fucked up and pretty traumatized either way.” 

Jay snorts at that, his usually obnoxious laughter replaced by a light wheezing noise that Cole can’t help but find soothing to listen to. “Yeah, you’re definitely right. And you know what? Once this is over, we should go hang out. No ninja stuff, no fighting, no Garmadon or Morro or snakes. Just like how we used to play when we were young.”

“We’re still young.” Cole points out.

“And we’re not getting any younger!” Jay waves one arm dramatically. “Ugh, one day we’re gonna grow so old like Master Wu. I don’t want to grow bald. Though from what I’ve seen back at that ice cave, I did get a pretty cool eye-patch.”

Cole laughs at that, the soft chuckles getting caught in his throat in a way that makes them come out a little breathless. Then he hums, his mind whirling back to the strange ice cave they’ve encountered a while back in the Tomb of the First Spinjitzu Master. He doesn’t recall ever seeing himself reflected in the ice, even when his friends said so. 

“I didn’t see myself, you know.” Cole says after a beat. “Back at the ice cave.”

“You didn’t?” Jay quirks an eyebrow, surprised. “Everyone was talking about it. We were all super old, but we seemed happy.”

“Yeah, I didn’t see anything.” Cole sighs, rubbing at the humming ache in his chest. “I figured it might be because ghosts don’t have reflections, but…some days I don’t know if I’m wrong or right. Maybe I don’t really have a future after this.” He swallows at the thought and turns away from Jay’s searching look. “I’m a little scared, to be honest. Am I going to stay like this forever?”

“Hey, look at me, Cole.” Jay says, propping himself up on on elbow to reach for Cole. His hand goes through Cole’s shoulder, but Cole turns back to him anyway. “Listen, we don’t know if our future will stay linear like what we’ve seen back at the cave. We’ve all done time traveling before, remember? And with all this magic stuff we’re dealing with, there’s bound to be a solution to your problem. All these negative thoughts are just your mind playing tricks on you. Trust me.”

“You sure about this?” Cole looks at Jay. “Usually you would be the one who’s panicking the most out of all of us. What’s the point, really?”

“I always have intrusive thoughts, Cole. The worst case scenarios always play in my mind no matter how much I try to get rid of them. But I know to remind myself that there are things worth looking forward to, that things will come out alright.” Jay grins at that. “We’re ninja, remember? Ninja never quit, and by FSM, _ I’ll _ never quit because  _ you’re _ worth it, Cole. You’re my best friend. We’re going to save Ninjago and get your body back.”

Cole stares at Jay as he finishes. The hand in his own stings lightly, and Cole holds back a hiss when his ghost form comes into contact with Jay’s sweat. Jay doesn’t say it, but he’s clearly trying to put on a brave face for both of them. The heat from his palm feels like it’s radiating throughout his body. The pain, too, is a grounding force. As a ghost, Cole can’t feel things as much as before except when he puts all of his focus on making himself tangible. He’d never thought he missed heat and pain, but there he is, squished between Jay and the wall on his own bed and holding hands with his best friend. Suddenly the night doesn’t seem quite as terrifying and the sound of wind against old wood floors become familiar again. Cole relaxes finally, and smiles back at Jay.

“You’re really channeling Lloyd there for a moment.” Cole laughs, and Jay’s grin gets even wider.

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Jay says, his voice trailing off into a yawn. “I was thinking of all those times when Lloyd or Kai or Sensei Wu gave us inspirational speeches. I swear they all just parrot each others back and forth.”

“Plagiarism.” Cole yawns back reflexively. 

“Oh shit, you’re right.” Jay yawns again, his hand relaxing its grip on Cole’s. “Mmm. I’m sleepy. I think I’ve had enough deep thoughts for the night.”

“Yeah, let’s sleep.” Cole snuggles back under his blanket, feeling the most comfortable he has ever felt in a long time. Jay already has his eyes closed, and soon enough his breathing evens out. In just a couple minutes, Jay falls asleep completely, snoring softly into his pillow. However, he never takes his hand away from Cole’s, and for that, Cole’s grateful.

“Thank you, Jay.” Cole murmurs into the night and closes his eyes.

The Bounty creaks, but the sound doesn’t make it to his ears.

 

* * *

 

Jay thinks that the Day of the Departed’s going on pretty well. He’s spending the night with his parents and they’re all having a great time, despite a certain nagging feeling in his chest as if he’s forgetting something. Whatever it is, it doesn’t really matter to him as he fiddles around with his lantern. His mom and dad are waiting for him, so he figures he better get everything together quickly. A vacation for the ninja is extremely rare and he treasures every moment he can spend with his family.

Of course, a ninja’s vacation can always be cut short. Samukai and his underlings showing up at his family’s doorstep is unexpected, and things just got weirder from there.

When he finally regroups with the rest of the ninja, they all share similar experiences dealing with past villains. Morro visiting, though, is a surprise. Instead of giving the ninja a bad time, he comes in with Master Wu bearing bad news. When Jay realizes something is missing from his life, it’s already too late.

“Cole…” He says under his breath, tasting the name as if he hasn’t said it in a long time. Suddenly, everything clicks together and he remembers his best friend and remembers leaving him behind in the museum. As the sky turns a sickly green before all of them, Jay can feel dread crawling up his spine. “I forgot about Cole.”

 

* * *

 

The Temple of Airjitzu has never been more alive, and yet it has never been more deadly, either. Jay watches with baited breath along with his friends as Cole battles alone against Yang. He wants so badly to cheer for him, and he does. When Cole gets beaten and bruised, Jay is barely hanging on the edge. It takes him all of his will power to not just jump down to save his friend. Time is running out and he hopes Cole knows it: the rift in the sky is slowly closing. 

And then Cole stumbles and falls. Jay lets out a horrified gasp when Yang descends upon him like a predator finding prey. They seem to be exchanging words, but the further the conversation goes, the more Yang pushes his blade closer against Cole. Jay doesn’t remember screaming his heart out along with the rest of the team, but the sore throat he has later on has nothing on the brilliant orange glow of Cole’s fists, shining like a beacon in the night sky. The blade shatters under Cole’s fingers, and Jay watches as the ghosts that Cole was fighting before rise into the night sky and enters the rift.

One by one they drop back down, fully human. Little by little, the rift closes a little bit more. He doesn’t realize he’s literally bouncing on his feet until Nya puts a steadying hand on his shoulder. Beneath them, Cole and Yang exchange more blows and more words. At the end of it, the old master of Airjitzu seems more emotionally worn than Cole, who’s stance shows that he’s become more sure of himself. But then both of them look up at the rift, and Jay does, too, only to realize that it’s closing in faster now.

“Cole! Cole! Airjitzu!” Jay screams out at his friend, but Cole and Yang already reacted, launching themselves from the roof of the temple towards the rift. When they start struggling midair, Jay feels as though his heart has just leapt out of his throat. There’s no time left, his mind screams at him, and he flails where he stands, not really knowing what to do.

The rift closes, and Yang launches his friend up into the air. There’s an implosion of sorts, before the Bounty is hit by the shockwaves created by the rift. Jay cannot see anything that’s happening because he’s too busy holding on for dear life. He can hear his friends yelling in confusion and horror around him, and the Bounty itself drops along with his stomach. The ship falls and collides with the floating island. It bounces once, twice, and skids to a halt, dragging a cloud of dust and debris along with it. Jay can feel his body aching where he’s been thrown violently on the deck of the ship, but as soon as he can think properly, all he knows is that the sky is clear once again and there’s no trace of Cole left.

He’s gone. 

“Cole’s gone.” Jay says out loud, overtaken by a surge of grief. He feels like vomiting and crying all at once, and watching the faces of his teammates, he realizes that everyone is sharing the same thought. “I watched him disappear.”

“I do not detect any ghostly traits within the area.” Zane speaks up, his voice stuttering as he bows his head. “There’s nothing left.”

“I don’t…” Jay hiccups, tears stinging his eyes. “I can’t…” There’s a hole in his chest, suddenly, as if that rift closing up is just to tear open another rift where his heart should be. He runs to the railing and clutches at it, peering off the side and trying feebly to catch a glimpse of his best friend amongst the dust clouds. He remembers their talk in the middle of the night, where Cole had questioned whether or not he would even have a future like the rest of the team. It feels like such a long time ago, and it is, but he never thought it would go this way.

They’ve all accidentally let Cole slip away, and this is the result of it.

“Cole’s my best friend.” He says, but it comes out choked. He feels like bawling and judging from other’s pitying and mournful expressions along with the taste of tears on his tongue, he’s already doing that. That thought doesn’t stop him, and he crumbles into himself, wailing loudly into the night sky.

“Cole’s my best friend!” He gasps through tears. Somewhere in his peripheral vision he can see Nya and Lloyd coming up to comfort him, but he can’t hold back the biting grief and clutches at his chest. “I shouldn’t have let him go..I’d do anything to get him back!”

“Anything?” A voice pipes up from behind him.

“Anything.” He answers back, taking in shuddering breaths. Maybe it’s because his ears are still ringing after their rough landing, but he swears that voice sounds so familiar.

“Even the Sonic Raider Jet?” 

_ What? _

Everyone around him gasps and Jay looks up, too. He catches the sight of warm bronze skin and black hair and dark clothes, and all in unison, he and the others cry out his name.

“Cole!” He calls out, running up to pull his best friend into a tight hug. The others follow suit, hugging Cole so tightly that they even lift him up a couple inches from the ground. He feels so warm and solid against Jay that Jay can’t help but cry a little bit more, drenching the front of Cole’s gi.

“FSM, you’re such a jerk.” Jay’s laugh turns into hiccuping breaths. “I thought I’d lost you forever.”

“I’m so sorry, Jay.” Cole murmurs back, his lips tickling the top of Jay’s hair. “I shouldn’t have gone out alone.”

“You’re not a ghost anymore!” Lloyd says on the side, breaking away from their group hug. Jay doesn’t want to do that, but he does anyway to give Cole some space. It’s not before he feels Cole’s hand ruffling up his hair and he grins at him through the curtain of tears in his eyes.

“Yeah, the rift really worked. I’m really back.” Cole replies before he’s pulled bodily to the side by Nya who starts inspecting him. Jay watches as she does. He knows that Nya has always been one to make sure that all her boys come back safely. It’s what helps her relax, and when she nods to herself with a smile so bright, Jay feels the knot in his chest unwinding, too.

“You look good as new!” Nya comments, but her eyes flicker to Cole’s forehead. Jay watches has Cole hastily combs his hair over it with his fingers, but that doesn’t quite hide the jagged scar that’s peeking out from under his bangs.

“I  _ feel  _ good. Thank you, Nya.” He replies. Sensing that he doesn’t want to talk about it right away, she steps back to give him some space. One by one, the rest of the team comes up to talk to Cole and hug him. Kai tries to pull him down to give him a noogie, which he gladly accepts. Zane doesn’t say much, but he pulls Cole into a hug to tight that Jay can hear Cole’s choked gasp squeaking through. Cole handles every interaction like a champ. He seems to welcome it all, in fact, trying to find excuses to touch other people. He shakes Master Wu’s hand and bends down for him to ruffle his hair. He also accepts a hug from Misako, and Lloyd joins in once again, tiptoeing a bit to wrap his arms around Cole’s broad shoulders. Jay knows that Cole missed it. He has always been a very tactile person. 

After the excitement had died down and everyone’s preparing the Bounty for another flight, Jay finds Cole sitting alone in their shared bedroom. The light in the room is dim, but it’s visible that his gi is still on, but his shoes are carefully untied and tucked underneath his bed. He has his blanket draped over his lap, his fingers touching the fabric and feeling them carefully.

“Tired already?” Jay asks by way of announcing himself. Cole looks up at him and grins, but Jay can see the exhaustion seeping in as his eyelids droop.

“Mhm, it’s been a long day.” Cole replies, scooting over so that Jay can sit down next to him. “But I’m glad I’m tired. It’ll make sleeping easier this time around.”

“Oh, I should leave then. I don’t wanna disrupt you, but I thought you should know we’re gonna fly back to the city soon to pick up your dad and others.” Jay makes to stand up, but Cole immediately grabs his hand and pulls him back down. 

“No, wait, please.” Cole shakes his head and rubs at his eyes tiredly. “Just wait a bit. I don’t want this to sound weird or creepy, but…” He sighs, clutching at his blanket. “Can you watch me so I can sleep? I don’t want to fall asleep alone. Not right now.”

_ Not after what happened _ is unspoken, but Jay understands right away. “Sure, Cole. I don’t mind. You’re my best friend after all, and I  _ did _ say I’d do anything for you.”

“Yeah, you sure did.” Cole huffs out a laugh. He stretches out and yawns loudly, before dropping himself onto his bed. He’s laying down sideways with his legs dangling off the edge, but he doesn’t seem to care about it. In fact, he seems delighted at the sensation of fabric and softness under his body. Jay laughs when Cole spreads his arms out and flaps them against the cool fabric like he’s making a half-assed snow angel.

Cole stops after a minute of playing around and Jay watches has his whole body sags against the mattress. The grin on his face is gone, too, replaced by a contemplative frown as he reaches up to touch at his forehead, right underneath his bangs. The scar, Jay notes, but doesn’t say.

“Don’t listen to a word I say, but…” Cole murmurs, fingers tracing where the scar should be. “I don’t know if I really came out right. My body feels okay. Even better than okay, to be honest, but this scar is not normal.”

“Yang’s ghost students turned out just fine.” Jay notes. “I think it might be because they made it out in time. Yours is probably from that close call.”

“Yeah, maybe…” Cole puts his hand down to grab at his blanket. He yawns again. “I dunno, Jay. I just want to finally feel like I’m at home again. I’ve been scared for my life for way too long. I know that I am alive now, but is that really the truth, here? Is the scar harmless? I don’t know. And not knowing just makes me more afraid.”

“Hey, dude, you’re gonna be fine.” Jay reaches his hand out and grabs Cole’s, mirroring what they’ve done before, right here on Cole’s bed in the middle of the night. “Maybe we don’t know the truth yet, but I’m just thankful that you’re safe. Do you feel safe, Cole?”

Cole hums, squeezing Jay’s hand tight. It’s warm and solid, just like the rest of him, and he gets the feeling that Cole’s thinking about the same thing.

“Yeah, I do.” Cole says after a moment. “Thanks, Jay.”

“No problem, Cole.” Jay replies. He doesn’t say anything after that, and Cole takes that initiative to close his eyes. Within minutes, he’s asleep, and Jay doesn’t leave his side until the Bounty lands back in Ninjago City.


End file.
